Bronny James played in his first NBA preseason game Friday night, but LeBron James wasn’t in uniform with him when the Lakers hosted Minnesota in the first of Los Angeles’ two weekend games in the Coachella Valley.
Lakers coach JJ Redick elected to hold out LeBron James against the Timberwolves after three hard days of training camp, but the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history is likely to play against Phoenix on Sunday — which just happens to be Bronny’s 20th birthday.
Bronny James finished with two points in the Lakers’ 124-107 loss to the Timberwolves, missing his first five shots before making a layup with 56.9 seconds to play. But the 6-foot-2 guard also blocked three shots, and he picked up one rebound and one assist while playing the first half of the second quarter and most of the fourth.
Before they become the first father and son to play in the same NBA game, Bronny James knows he has plenty of work to do. He got his first chance to play in Lakers gold when he took the floor to begin the second quarter at Acrisure Arena outside Palm Springs.
Playing alongside starting Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, Bronny got caught on a pick on his first defensive possession, allowing Rob Dillingham to hit an open 3-pointer. Bronny’s pass was then intercepted by Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the other end, but Bronny hustled back and blocked his layup attempt.
Bronny missed all three of his shots during his first six minutes of action, including a 3-pointer. He picked up an assist when he found Rui Hachimura for a 3-pointer from the corner on a fast break.
Bronny returned for the start of the fourth quarter, missing a jumper and having a layup attempt blocked. In the final minute, he got a pass from fellow rookie Dalton Knecht and looped a layup over a defender for his first points.
LeBron appeared to be keeping a mindful distance from Bronny during the game, allowing his oldest son to focus on his job. But LeBron spoke at length to Bronny during a timeout halfway through the second quarter, explaining something with hand gestures while Bronny nodded.
Bronny James was the Lakers’ second-round draft pick, and he played in summer league in Las Vegas. He is expected to play for the Lakers in the preseason before spending a significant portion of the upcoming regular season with the G League’s South Bay Lakers.
“Of course there’s nerves,” Bronny said after the Lakers’ pregame shootaround. “But I’m just excited to go out there and learn from the…
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